Infant girl dies in apartment blaze

Family says baby was knocked from mother's arms during escape.

Family says baby was knocked from mother's arms during escape.

November 29, 2005

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) -- A 7-month-old girl was killed in a fire that swept through a 22-unit apartment building in suburban Detroit. The baby's parents and a sibling were able to escape from the Friday night blaze, said Deputy Chief Mike Phy of the Clinton Township Fire Department. But the infant, Kamara Manor, was knocked out of her mother's arms, family members said. "The neighbors were all in the hallway, trying to escape, too, and someone knocked the baby out of her arms," Kamara's great aunt, Sarbra Henderson, told The Detroit News. Kamara's mother, Marquita Manor, crawled around to find her child and was burned by the fire, Henderson said. Marquita Manor was one of at least 12 residents who were hospitalized. She later was released from the hospital, authorities said. Most of the injuries were due to smoke inhalation, Phy said. "For 22 years I've been a firefighter and this is the most injuries I've faced at a fire," he said. Phy said the infant was found Saturday morning after a search of rubble at the complex. The Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating the cause of death. Firefighters called in a Michigan State Police dog to search for the baby in the ruins of the building. The blaze, which started around 10:45 p.m., destroyed 11 apartments, and some hot spots burned more than 12 hours after the fire began. Phy said about a quarter of the building had collapsed. The fire was doused by early Saturday afternoon. The cause of the blaze likely was accidental, although it is under investigation, Phy said. It may have started in the apartment of a man who uses an oxygen tank, he said, and the oxygen may have fueled the blaze. Eleven families were displaced and the fire department gave some vouchers to stay at a nearby Best Western Inn in Mount Clemens. The American Red Cross found shelter for the others.